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XTRA Airways secures Saipan slots for China ops

XTRA Airways (XP, Miami Int'l) is on course to launch flights from the Northern Mariana Islands to China on September 20, after winning approval for early slots at Saipan airport. The Guam Daily Post reports that the approval came after discussions with the Commonwealth Ports Authority (CPA), which manages the airport, and US Customs and Border Protection.

As previously reported, XTRA Airways' plans suffered a setback when they discovered they had lost landing slots between 0400L and 0500L. The CPA had been concerned that too many passengers would be arriving at the same time, leading to delays.

But Executive Director of the Marianas Visitors Authority, Chris Concepcion, told the Saipan Tribune that that was unacceptable.

"The fact that there are not enough CBP employees to handle additional visitors is a federal issue and we hope that they are able to beef up manpower in the CNMI to accommodate our growing tourism industry," Concepcion said.

With that roadblock out of the way, XTRA can now move ahead with its planned launch.

The Florida-based carrier is approved for a 3x weekly service between Saipan and Nanjing, and a 2x weekly service between Saipan and Shenzhen. Once the Chinese routes are established, XTRA Airways will then look at connecting Saipan to Guam Int'l.

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Businessman Andrew Levy is planning to launch a new ultra-low-cost carrier based on XTRA Airways (XP, Miami Int'l) which he acquired in August 2018, Here & Now has reported.

The carrier is eyeing a late 2019 or early 2020 launch with a fleet consisting of five aircraft. According to Bloomberg, the fleet would most likely consist of B737-800s. By 2023, it plans to operate forty-five aircraft.

XTRA Airways (XP, Miami Int'l) no longer faces a potential USD50 million lawsuit after a group of businesses from Saipan and 21 Chinese tourists dropped their case without elaborating on the reasons, the Marianas Variety has reported.

The five local tourism-related businesses and 21 individual travellers had earlier accused XTRA Airways and its executives of racketeering related to short-lived operations to China from Saipan in 2017.

According to the original lawsuit, one of the plaintiffs, Dream Pacific Aviation Services Hong Kong Ltd., entered into a charter agreement with XTRA in March 2017 to operate one Boeing narrowbody between Saipan and destinations in China. The contract was later expanded to two aircraft and additional destinations in China. The remaining plaintiffs collaborated with Dream Pacific to provide lodging and food for the expected influx of tourists to Saipan.

XTRA Airways briefly operated from Saipan to both Nanjing and Tianjin between September 24 and November 4, 2017. It cancelled the services without prior warning after a mechanical failure on the B737-800s deployed on...